Chapter 183: Kestrel

[Tranquil City - Industrial District - Night]

Damian walked alone through the empty streets, a cigar between his lips, smoke trailing behind him in the cold night air.

His hands were in his pockets, his posture relaxed despite the tension coiled in his enhanced muscles.

The speech was done. Eight thousand children now carried his promise.

And the city finally knew his face and name. Everything he’d wanted to accomplish by revealing himself publicly had been achieved.

But... he’d separated from the others immediately after, sending Mike and the core members away with instructions to secure the orphanages and prepare for potential retaliation.

He even told Kuro to stay in the orphanage to look after the children.

Because... he’d felt them.

Four presences following him since the moment he’d stepped onto that stage.

Four A rank Auras trying and failing to remain hidden from someone with his enhanced perception.

Damian stopped walking in the middle of an abandoned industrial plaza, surrounded by old warehouses that nobody used anymore.

He took a long drag from his cigar, exhaled slowly, then spoke in a casual tone.

"Show yourselves."

The words hung in the air for a moment.

Then four figures materialized from the shadows, their A rank Auras exploding outward with enough pressure to crack the pavement beneath them.

All four were burly, built like professional fighters, their heads shaved on the sides in an identical style.

The family resemblance to Mara Kestrel was unmistakable – the same sharp features, the same cold eyes and the same arrogance held barely in check.

Kestrel Family members!

The leader – tallest of the four, with a scar running down his left cheek – smirked at Damian.

"You’re quite protective of your people. You knew we were following you and yet sent them all away to save their pitiful lives. How noble of you."

His voice dripped with mockery.

Damian didn’t respond immediately, just kept smoking, his crimson eyes studying each opponent.

’The Mafia is too weak currently. Mike could handle maybe one of them in single combat. But four A rank opponents simultaneously? They’d all die trying to protect me.

Better this way. Better they live and I handle this alone.’

"Kestrel?"

His voice was neutral, confirming rather than asking.

The leader nodded, his smirk widening.

"Smart kid. You figured it out quickly. We’re here to deliver a message from our family about what happens when commoners forget their place. It seems you didn’t read the message we sent previously."

No more words were spoken!

Crack Crack

All four released their Auras fully, the combined pressure creating a shockwave that shattered windows in nearby buildings.

Then... they attacked.

The leader stayed back, observing.

The other three came at Damian from different angles, their movements coordinated through years of training together.

They were hand-to-hand specialists, their fighting style built around devastating punches enhanced by Aura and their weapon art.

"Crushing Fist Art: First Form - Meteor Strike!"

The rightmost attacker’s fist glowed with concentrated Aura, the air around it distorting from the power.

Damian activated Sonic Blink, his body flickering out of existence and reappearing three meters away as the fist cratered the ground where he’d been standing.

BOOM

’I can’t rely on Aura in this fight. They’re A rank. Their Aura control and capacity vastly exceed mine. I’ll be crushed with my C- rank.

But... I can match them physically even if I can’t match them in Aura.’

He channeled all his Aura into his self-healing skill, keeping it running constantly in the background.

Then engaged using pure physical prowess.

The second attacker came from his left, a combination of jabs and hooks, each strike carrying enough force to pulverize stone.

Damian’s Macro Vision activated, his enhanced perception reading the micro-movements of muscles and tendons, predicting each attack a fraction of a second before it fully committed.

He ducked under the jab, sidestepped the hook and countered with his own strike to the ribs.

CRACK.

His fist connected, his enhanced strength driving through the Aura-reinforced defense, cracking at least two ribs.

"Ugh!"

The attacker grunted in pain but didn’t slow down, his conditioning allowing him to fight through injuries that would disable normal people.

The third attacker came from behind, trying to grapple, to restrict Damian’s movement.

But Damian spun around, his elbow catching the man’s temple with enough force to snap his head sideways.

BAM

Then he had to dodge again as the first attacker returned, his Meteor Strike technique charging up for another attempt.

The fight became a brutal dance of violence and precision.

Damian moved constantly, never staying still, using Sonic Blink to create distance when they tried to surround him, using his enhanced speed to exploit gaps in their coordination.

His fists struck with mechanical efficiency. Throat, solar plexus, kidney, knee joint... Every target chosen to maximize damage while conserving energy.

But... he was taking hits too.

Bam

An elbow caught his jaw, his enhanced durability preventing the bone from shattering but still sending pain lancing through his skull.

A knee strike to his ribs drove the air from his lungs.

A palm strike to his chest sent him sliding backward across the pavement.

His self-healing worked constantly, bones mending, tissue repairing, but each injury cost Aura he couldn’t afford to waste.

"You’re good, kid. Better than we expected."

The leader’s voice called from where he observed, still not engaging directly.

"But you’re fighting three A rank opponents with C- rank Aura. You can’t win. You’re just delaying the inevitable."

Damian didn’t waste breath responding, just kept fighting, kept moving and kept looking for an opening that might let him escape.

’He’s right. I can hold them off for a while using my physical advantages, but eventually I’ll make a mistake.

I need to do something...’

The first attacker’s fist glowed again, charging another Meteor Strike.

The second moved to flank.

The third tried to cut off his escape route.

They were adapting, learning his patterns and coordinating better with each exchange.

Then the leader moved, his own Aura spiking to levels that made the others look weak by comparison.

"Enough playing around."

"Domain Expansion: Gravitational Prison."

Sudden, the world around them shifted.

And a massive sphere of Aura erupted from the leader, expanding outward to encompass a hundred-meter radius, trapping Damian and the three attackers inside.

From outside, anyone watching would see nothing but an opaque sphere of energy preventing any view of what happened within.

Inside, Damian immediately felt the difference.

His body became heavy, like someone had wrapped him in thick mud.

Every movement required triple the normal effort. The air itself resisted his breathing.

’A physical Domain. One that manipulates gravity and resistance within its boundaries...

He’s weakening me while keeping his own team unaffected. I can’t even take out my axe inside his Domain!’

The leader stood at the Domain’s center, his expression confident.

"Kill him."

The three attackers came forward, their movements only slightly hindered by the Domain since their leader was actively minimizing its effect on allies.

Damian stood surrounded, his options narrowing to nothing, his enhanced attributes barely compensating for the Domain’s suppression.

Then... he smiled as a cold look appeared in his eyes.

"You’re not the only one with a Domain."

He snapped his fingers.

"Domain Expansion: Despair."